US EPA presentation by Dr. Nick Ashbolt, PhD, Office of Reseach and Development, at the Green First roundtable. His topic was “Non-Traditional Technologies — Recovery of Resources”. Hosted at Falmouth Public Library, Falmouth, MA, USA on December 8, 2011. Many coastal communities and cities are going to have to come up with new wastewater management strategies, but there are options. Please NOTE: the views expressed are not necessarily those of the EPA and are in no way meant to reflect official EPA policy. Dr Nicholas J. Ashbolt is a Title 42 Senior Research Microbiologist with the National Exposure Research Laboratory, US EPA Cincinnati (since January 2007). Previously he was Head of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, where he continues as an Adjunct Professor as well as at the University of Cincinnati. He has 25 years of experience in environmental microbiology, with a focus on the fate and transport of environmental pathogens. Over the last 10 years he has worked in joint Australian-Sweden and European programs developing methods to interpret pathogen data with the aid of quantitative microbial risk assessment within an urban water sustainability framework. This work has contributed to the risk-based approach adopted in the recently published WHO guidelines for recreational, drinking and reuse waters. He has published 31 book chapters, 112 journal papers and over 100 conference proceedings since he …

US EPA presentation by Dr. Nick Ashbolt, PhD, Office of Reseach and Development, at the Green First roundtable. His topic was “Non-Traditional Technologies — Recovery of Resources”. Hosted at Falmouth Public Library, Falmouth, MA, USA on December 8, 2011. Many coastal communities and cities are going to have to come up with new wastewater management strategies, but there are options. Please NOTE: the views expressed are not necessarily those of the EPA and are in no way meant to reflect official EPA policy. Dr Nicholas J. Ashbolt is a Title 42 Senior Research Microbiologist with the National Exposure Research Laboratory, US EPA Cincinnati (since January 2007). Previously he was Head of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, where he continues as an Adjunct Professor as well as at the University of Cincinnati. He has 25 years of experience in environmental microbiology, with a focus on the fate and transport of environmental pathogens. Over the last 10 years he has worked in joint Australian-Sweden and European programs developing methods to interpret pathogen data with the aid of quantitative microbial risk assessment within an urban water sustainability framework. This work has contributed to the risk-based approach adopted in the recently published WHO guidelines for recreational, drinking and reuse waters. He has published 31 book chapters, 112 journal papers and over 100 conference proceedings since he …

US EPA presentation by Dr. Nick Ashbolt, PhD, Office of Reseach and Development, at the Green First roundtable. His topic was “Non-Traditional Technologies — Recovery of Resources”. Hosted at Falmouth Public Library, Falmouth, MA, USA on December 8, 2011. Many coastal communities and cities are going to have to come up with new wastewater management strategies, but there are options. Please NOTE: the views expressed are not necessarily those of the EPA and are in no way meant to reflect official EPA policy. Dr Nicholas J. Ashbolt is a Title 42 Senior Research Microbiologist with the National Exposure Research Laboratory, US EPA Cincinnati (since January 2007). Previously he was Head of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, where he continues as an Adjunct Professor as well as at the University of Cincinnati. He has 25 years of experience in environmental microbiology, with a focus on the fate and transport of environmental pathogens. Over the last 10 years he has worked in joint Australian-Sweden and European programs developing methods to interpret pathogen data with the aid of quantitative microbial risk assessment within an urban water sustainability framework. This work has contributed to the risk-based approach adopted in the recently published WHO guidelines for recreational, drinking and reuse waters. He has published 31 book chapters, 112 journal papers and over 100 conference proceedings since he …

US EPA presentation by Dr. Nick Ashbolt, PhD, Office of Reseach and Development, at the Green First roundtable. His topic was “Non-Traditional Technologies — Recovery of Resources”. Hosted at Falmouth Public Library, Falmouth, MA, USA on December 8, 2011. Many coastal communities and cities are going to have to come up with new wastewater management strategies, but there are options. Please NOTE: the views expressed are not necessarily those of the EPA and are in no way meant to reflect official EPA policy. Dr Nicholas J. Ashbolt is a Title 42 Senior Research Microbiologist with the National Exposure Research Laboratory, US EPA Cincinnati (since January 2007). Previously he was Head of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, where he continues as an Adjunct Professor as well as at the University of Cincinnati. He has 25 years of experience in environmental microbiology, with a focus on the fate and transport of environmental pathogens. Over the last 10 years he has worked in joint Australian-Sweden and European programs developing methods to interpret pathogen data with the aid of quantitative microbial risk assessment within an urban water sustainability framework. This work has contributed to the risk-based approach adopted in the recently published WHO guidelines for recreational, drinking and reuse waters. He has published 31 book chapters, 112 journal papers and over 100 conference proceedings since he …

Will Water Conservation and Water Saving Green Technologies Spur the Future of American Prosperity?

In June of this year, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asked President Obama to declare Fresno County a federal disaster area. The White House has not yet responded to Governor Schwarzenegger’s request. Requests for presidential disaster declarations are much rarer for droughts than for other natural disasters. Previous requests like this one were declined by the Bush administration. Nevertheless, the compounding effects of three straight years of drought have had a devastating effect on the stateÕs resources, as well as its already failing economy. As the New York Times reported, “These are dire circumstances,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said at a stop in Mendota California, “Here in the Central Valley, no water means no work. And no work means people cannot feed their families.” Without the federal disaster declaration, drought relief is usually handled through the Department of Agriculture’s crop insurance program, which subsidizes underwriters of agricultural concerns and provides direct payments to farmers and ranchers. But with California’s economy crippled and its budget woes growing it is doubtful that waiting for mother nature to cooperate is going to be enough.

This plea comes a little more than a year after Governor Schwarzenegger issued an executive order for most of California in an effort to try to stave off the effects of the then two year old drought. At that time, the order was filled mainly with language like, “work with,” “help to,” or “prepare for.” In fact, at one point it directly requested regional and local governments to “prepare for potential worsening water conditions in 2009.” Rather then a call to action, the executive order read more like a call to be prepared to be called to action. Now, a year later and deeper into the drought and the state’s reservoirs the lowest they’ve been since 1992, the official “call to action” for most Californians still seems to be lacking. Exacerbating the situation even further are the current wild fires that are raging outside of Los Angeles, Santa Cruz and elsewhere. Millions of gallons of water are now being expended in emergency efforts to protect life and property in California.

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While our national government mulls over Schwarzenegger’s plea, it is time for Californians to start looking at what they can do themselves. Afterall, as the USA Today reported earlier this year, Schwarzenegger’s order leaves the door open for more severe restrictions later. If there is no improvement in water reserves and residents fail to conserve on their own, additional measures could include mandatory water rationing and water reductions. In the Governor’s 2008-2009 budget an .9 billion water bond for water management investments was proposed that would include .1 billion to increase water use efficiency. With liberals in control of Washington and the country fully engrossed in everything “green” – a mandated push toward conservation, especially in left leaning California, would be like preaching to the choir. And with the state’s economic woes increasing by the hour, looking to cut water and energy costs could save more than just the environment.

Others argue that less draconian measures could be taken first to relieve California’s water problems. Jail costs have long plagued the state and recent estimates puts the annual costs at somewhere around 900 million. That’s a number green technology could help lower. Low flow shower heads, high efficiency toilets, energy saving light bulbs, wind and solar power are all technologies that have or are maturing and the financial boons that they are delivering are irrefutable. “It would save millions of dollars a month. And that would be just from retro-fitting the jails, shelters, schools, and hospitals. If California went green in all their buildings, it would produce enormous savings in energy and water usage,” says Josh Witzig of Water and Energy Solutions (WES).

WES, a distributor and solutions provider of both commercial and residential conservation products has been involved in retro-fitting homes, businesses and government buildings with green technology for years. “A lot of people get nervous about the initial cost,” Witzig continues, “but when they recoup that cost in savings over the first year, and sometimes in the first few months, then they start to realize what an incredible investment this technology is.” The most difficult thing to believe is that this technology is really no different in appearance or usage than the appliances already occupying most Californian (and for that matter our nation’s) homes. The problem companies like Water and Energy Solutions face is educating the consumer as to the financial win-win that this new technology provides, and getting their products in front of the consumer.

If such small-scale measures can have such an enormous impact now, what about the difference scientific breakthroughs in energy and water conservation technology could make in the future? The sky is the limit for both the initiatives Governor Schwarzenegger could be looking into and the imagination and innovation of the American entrepreneur.

The Governor is right to be concerned about the effects the drought is having on unemployment, but with the power that comes with running the eighth largest economy on the planet he has the ability to start creating work that can explore new means to solve California’s water crisis. However, it’s an initiative he can’t undertake alone. It means Californians also have to stand up and take some responsibility for the current problems that face them. Today it might mean a new low-flow shower head or high efficiency toliet. And in the future it might mean a portable water reclamation unit or portable desalination unit. But regardless, each small step will be crucial in ending the downward spiral California is caught in of ever increasing energy costs and decreasing availiability of fresh clean water.

Green plumbing is the most energy efficient plumbing system that also provides for water conservation. Green products associated with plumbing systems are hot water demand systems and tankless water heaters.

Green plumbing products, energy efficiency, and water conservation

Green plumbing is plumbing designed to be the most energy efficient and at the same time conserve the most water. This boils down to the hot water plumbing since the cold water side does not consume, lose, or waste energy or water. Typical products associated with such plumbing systems are tankless water heaters and hot water demand systems.

Hot water plumbing systems

The hot water plumbing is another story. The pipes end up full of hot water after each use, then cooling off, wasting a huge amount of energy. Then the cooled off hot water in the pipes from the previous use must be purged in order to obtain hot water at the fixture the next time it’s used. This is not a good way to provide water conservation.

If the water heater is located a long way from the point of use, the water temperature will be lower at the fixture than at the outlet of the tank due to the heat energy lost along the length of the pipe.

Having identified the factors involved in efficient plumbing systems; water wastage and energy loss from the distribution piping, we can try to find ways to make the plumbing system more efficient.

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Pipe Insulation

Insulating the hot water piping contributes to efficient plumbing. Since while you wait for the hot water to arrive, you are wastefully running water down the drain, minimizing the wait for hot water will minimize the amount of water being wasted.

Part of the delay in the arrival of hot water is due to the fact that the piping material absorbs the heat from the water as it travels through the pipe, so when the hot water arrives it has already cooled off and you have to wait a little longer. The longer the piping run is the worse the problem becomes.

By insulating the pipes, they do not get as cold and thus they absorb less heat from the hot water traveling to the fixture. Your hot water reaches you faster and you run less water down the drain. Insulating your pipes contributes to water conservation.

The temperature drop long the pipe on those long runs is less due to the insulation, resulting in more energy efficiency.

Point-of-use tankless water heaters

Tankless water heaters are seen as green products these days, but you have to be careful about opting for tankless. Due to the capacity limitations and temperature rise limitations on tankless heaters, they generally best used as point of use water heaters. In other words they would be located at the fixture or fixtures where the hot water is to be used.

Point of use water heaters eliminate that long pipe run, virtually eliminating the energy and water wastage attributable to the distribution piping.

Hot water demand systems

If point-of-use water heating is not feasible with your plumbing layout, then consider a hot water demand pumping system. A hot water demand system is a pumping system similar to a standard hot water circulating system, except the pump only comes on when you demand hot water by pressing a button.

Pressing the button causes a small pump mounted under the fixture furthest from the water heater to begin pumping the hot water from the water heater to the fixture at high speed, turning off when it detects the arrival of hot water.

Then when you turn on the fixture you have instant hot water and no water was run down the drain. Demand systems only consume about to per year in electricity to run. Some models are under 0 retail, and are very easy to install, they hook up with hoses. They save you time, water, and money.

Plumbing products and a green plumbing layouts

Make your plumbing system green, add insulation if possible, and use plumbing products like point-of-use water heaters, and use a hot water demand systems if you can’t use a point of use tankless water heater.

If you have long pipe runs, loop your hot water piping from fixture to fixture and install a demand system at the end of the line.